Ranking the Most Important Dolphins, No. 14: Can Dodson Carve a Role Among Rookies?

The Miami Dolphins will head into training camp at the end of July with a totally different roster than the one that ended the 2025 season after an offseason overhaul that saw the departure of several significant veterans and the arrival of newcomers young and old.

The Dolphins have 91 players on their roster with the exemption they have for England-born rookie tight end Seydou Traore, a participant of the International Player Pathway Program.

As life goes in the NFL, not every player on the roster is equal, so we decided to rank all of them in terms of their importance to the Dolphins' success in the 2026 season. The list was determined on the basis of not just ability but also expected role and significance to the overall progress of the organization as it continues the rebuilding project that began with the hiring of Jon-Eric Sullivan as GM and Jeff Hafley as head coach.

This is part of a series that will run in the lead-up to start of training camp.

NUMBER 14: LB TYREL DODSON

How he joined the Dolphins

The Dolphins claimed Dodson off waivers from the Seattle Seahawks in November 2024 after he was released in the middle of his first season with Seattle.

Contract status

Dodson is headed into the second year of a two-year, $6.25 million contract he signed during the 2025 offseason. He's scheduled to make $2.4 million in base salary this year, though none of it is guaranteed, along with $717,000 in prorated signing bonus money, per Over The Cap.

His 2025 season

While he was overshadowed by Jordyn Brooks' All-Pro performance, Dodson put up pretty good stats himself, finishing with 129 tackles, five sacks, 10 tackles for loss, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. He started all 16 games he played. The interception came during the 34-10 victory against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium in December. The other side of Dodson's performance showed a 115.7 passer rating allowed in coverage (per Pro Football
Reference) and ranking 61st among 73 qualifying linebackers (based on snaps) from Pro Football Focus.

His projected role

The Dolphins will be making more use of pure linebackers under new head coach Jeff Hafley's defensive scheme and they invested heavily at the position in the 2026 draft by selecting Jacob Rodriguez in Round 2, and then Trey Moore and Kyle Louis in Round 4, though Moore also will be used as an edge. Hafley now will have a lot of options for starting roles and a rotation, and Dodson definitely will be in the mix. He figures to battle Rodriguez for playing time at middle linebacker, and what complicates his situation is that he's in the last year of his contract, Rodriguez represents the future, and the Dolphins can walk away from Dodson with some cap savings if they decided to go that route.

THE PREVIOUS PLAYERS ON THE COUNTDOWN

90. G James Ester
89. T Kevin Cline
88. QB Mark Gronowski
87. DT Keith Cooper Jr.
86. EDGE Seth Coleman
85. RB Anthony Hankerson
84. WR Donaven McCulley
83. FB D.J. Herman
82. C Jim Bonitas
81. LS Tucker Addington
80. DT Alex Huntley
79. T Marques Cox
78. EDGE Rodney McGraw
77. TE Cole Turner
76. DT Khalil Saunders
75. CB Miles Battle
74. S Major Burns
73. RB Carlos Washington Jr.
72. EDGE Robert Beal Jr.
71. WR A.J. Henning
70. RB Donovan Edwards
69. DB Omar Brown
68. EDGE Cameron Goode
67. WR Jalen Reagor
66. EDGE Max Llewellyn
65. WR Terrace Marshall Jr.
64. CB Ethan Robinson
63. G/T Josh Priebe
62. DT Rene Konga
61. WR Tahj Washington
60. QB Cam Miller
59. CB A.J. Green III
58. EDGE Mason Reiger
57. CB Alex Austin
56. P Bradley Pinion
55. LB Jackson Woodard
54. K Zane Gonzalez
53. S Louis Moore
52. DT Matthew Butler
51. CB Marco Wilson
50. CB Darrell Baker Jr.
49. LB Ronnie Harrison Jr.
48. T Charlie Heck
47. WR Chris Bell
46. CB Storm Duck
45. WR Theo Wease Jr.
44. TE Seydou Traore
43. G DJ Campbell
42. G/C Andrew Meyer
41. K Riley Patterson
40. S Michael Taaffe
39. CB Ethan Bonner
38. TE Ben Sims
37. EDGE David Ojabo
36. S Lonnie Johnson Jr.
35. Zayne Anderson
34. EDGE Josh Uche
33. WR Jalen Tolbert
32. EDGE/LB Trey Moore
31. LB Willie Gay Jr.
30. RB Jaylen Wright
29. WR Kevin Coleman Jr.
28. G Jonah Savaiinaea
27. DT Zeek Biggers
26. LB Kyle Louis
25. RB Ollie Gordon II
24. WR Tutu Atwell
23. G/T Jamaree Salyer
22. WR Malik Washington
21. DT Jordan Phillips
20. WR Caleb Douglas
19. LB Jacob Rodriguez
18. CB Jason Marshall Jr.
17. S Dante Trader Jr.
16. TE Will Kacmarek
15. QB Quinn Ewers

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